| Summary/Abstract |
Nearly 30 years after I wrote “US Interests and the Use of Force in the Middle East”, these aphorisms are a good starting point for assessing American interests and policies in the Middle East, including approaches to the use of force. I take some quiet pride that what I wrote back then stands up well – for that era. And in terms of analysis of American interests in the region – mutatis mutandis – it also stands up well, as do the precepts for judging policy alternatives. As of today, criteria for US use of force are close to what I perceived them to be in 1986 – though following two major detours, Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
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